Princess Diana ‘leaked royal phone numbers to tabloid after separation’

Princess Diana leaked information to a journalist in a bid to ‘take on’ the Prince of Wales, the phone hacking trial was told.

After the couple separated, the princess passed details about her estranged husband’s staff and a royal directory to a News of the World reporter as she sought an ‘ally’ in the press, the Old Bailey heard.

Clive Goodman, the defunct tabloid’s former royal editor, said an envelope from Diana containing information about Charles’s household was sent to his office.

He told the court: ‘She was going through a very, very difficult time. She told me she wanted me to see the scale of her husband’s staff and household, compared with others.

‘She felt she was being swamped by people close to his household.

‘She was looking for an ally to take him on – to show there were forces that would rage against him.’

Goodman said he used so-called ‘Green Books’ and directories containing numbers for senior members of the household for stories.

He said: ‘That arrived at my office in Wapping with my name on it. She [Diana] had a [good] relationship with several journalists.’

Asked how he used information contained within them, Goodman recalled several stories which benefited from having royal contact numbers.

For one story immediately after Diana’s death, Goodman said there was public upset at an apparent ‘lack of respect’ being shown by senior members of the royal family in not flying a Buckingham Palace flag at half mast.

He said: ‘Then a flag shot up a pole for about 20 minutes and then came down again. The palace said it was a mistake but we had a tip-off that it was a palace fireman who was so enraged.’

Goodman, 56, and his fellow defendants deny all charges. The trial continues.